Say Goodbye Twice
by Dynnzel
Summary: The dead never rest in the Sol System. Enjoying life is a luxury denied to the Guardians since they have only one purpose: to defend the Light. Some of Cayde-6's sins have come back to haunt him.
1. Chapter 1

The shadow of the moon had grown softer in light of recent events. Crota, the son of Oryx, was dead. A brave fireteam took that leap of faith into the dark and massacred their way to the dark prince and put an end to his existence. For a brief moment in Earth's new history there was peace… an uneasy peace… but peace nonetheless.

The sun peaked out cautiously around the planet's side, screams that once echoed in the moon's infected crevices were absent. The plants burst forth and receded, and continued their cycle of life and death. Over time the guardians surged to the moon, flushing out any remaining pockets of surviving Hive hiding amidst their broken kingdom.

The Traveler continued to hang silently above the Last City.

A little pearly white ghost paused a moment to look up at the sunset. Fresh sparkling snow blanketed the area, giving the impression that no war or even civilization had happened down this road. The only give away was the long gap in foliage since the plants had not quite yet taken over the road.

Ghost hovered just an instance longer before moving on along the ancient road. Taking a moment when she felt a presence to scan for a viable candidate, a new guardian. She'd been searching for quite some time, her previous guardian had finally reached the point he'd just wanted to rest. So he'd went to sleep… and never woke up again.

It wasn't as uncommon as the City's residence would want to believe, but even guardians had their limits.

The ghost buzzed painfully at the memory of her sleeping guardian and flew through a branch, causing the snow to explode in a white cloud and the tree to snap wildly as it was relieved of its burden. Ghost had never thought she would have to find another guardian, well, she didn't have to, but she couldn't deny what she was made for. The urge to seek was simply in her coding.

Quietly the sun set, soon the only light in the area was Ghosts' eye and the stars above. The moon did not shine this night. She came across some footprints that looked Fallen, they were not as old as she would want, edges were still sharp around the hole, signaling that the hunting party was actively in the area. She narrowed her optic as she hovered over the tracks before floating off into the woods. Finding bodies was not difficult, people had scattered to the winds which ever direction would take them during the end of the Golden Age for humanity. Oh yes, the dust of bones was plentiful. It was finding one strong enough to come back that was the issue.

The ghosts' light winked in and out, flitting from corpse to corpse reading the unreadable. Many of these people were old, closer to the Golden Age than the ghost would've liked. She didn't like doing this, it was as unpleasant of an experience as the first time she'd done it.

Abruptly the little light stopped at the sound of a snapping twig and dove for cover under a snow-laden bough.

Nothing moved.

Ghost finally mustered up the courage to peek out from her hiding place. Suddenly wishing the Traveler had thought better of making their eye so bright. Perhaps she should've kept her search closer to where the Guardians normally patrolled. This area had been abandoned for years, it used to be a very busy hub for the guardians on their way out to patrol.

"Bugger…" Ghost muttered, shaking off her fear and plowing back out into the dark.

The leaves shivered, snow fell from some nearby trees. Ghost narrowed her optic, thumping the branch she hovered over in a puff of annoyance. This caused the tree to shake just enough that snow slid off the branches above and buried the little ghost.

Her moveable plates shifted in such a manner that one might think the machine was sighing.

Nothing moved in the forest, not even the air.

After getting her fill of brooding,Ghost popped out of the snow and continued her journey across the wild lands.

She'd lost count of how many dead she'd found, or rather she'd stopped counting because the number was just too sad to continue.

A building that used to house the regular soldiers and Guardians lay in ruin, fence mangled and ripped apart, walls crumbling and burn marks from weapon fire still marring what paint was left. The ghosts' light traced the ground.

No...no...nope... You are definitely not it.

No one here seemed determined to come back. Perhaps she should move back to the Cosmodrome. Being that it had been one of the main launch sites at the end of the Golden Age it was still ripe with potentials.

The light passed over a pile of bones barely covered in what used to be a thick robe. Ghost paused a moment.

There it was... That call. A string of memories that was strong. The content didn't matter, the emotion behind it was what the Ghost had been looking for. The instinct to live was easy to find, the will to serve was a lot harder to find.

Ghost circled the bones, partially crumbled from being stepped on. Scanning once, twice, three times just to be sure. Yes yes, this one would do.

She flitted from one broken window to another in haste to make sure she was alone. Circuitry buzzed excitedly at the notion that she wouldn't be alone anymore

Ghost returned to the body, gears twirling around her optic as she gathered her strength for the resurrection.

"Up and at em Guardian!" She burst forth into a sphere of light, casting rays every which way until they were focused solely on the dust underneath her. It wasn't enough to just make a flesh body, it had to have a base, even if that base was sealed away during this process, the body would remember things, it helped the Guardians pass the stage of infancy that organics had. The ghost began to weave the atoms together, extracting from the DNA in the bones, memory and ancestry. It started with the brain, the nervous system winking into existence. Dust and leaves scattering away from the ceremony.

The first recreation held all of the ghosts' attention, she could not care about the outside world during this stage. Shadows raced across the open yard, like moths to a flame. Except in this case they would not burn when they reached it.

Ghost started the final stages of her weave, the memories were scattered, traumatized and loud, this one did not die a pleasant death. Just like her first Guardian she did not read into them, only tucked them away in the back of the mind like the Traveler had told them to do. Memories would only distract them from their purpose.

The body had finished being composed, the bones had once been an Awoken, light grey skinned, black hair and shining green eyes. Those eyes were currently empty as the ghost prepared her. Basic armor formed around the new Guardian in a shimmer of light.

Pain.

Ghost almost dispersed into nothingness as a bullet blasted through apart of her sphere, cracking her optic.

Her weave of the Guardian faltered, the body quivered like it was about to fall apart.

Stitch stitch stitch! No time for a perfect mold, Ghost needed this Guardian to wake up right now!

The screeches of the Fallen cut through the air as they were blinded by a flash of light as the Ghost pulled together herself and the Guardian hastily, light bleeding from not just the Ghost but from the Guardian's head as well. Ghost did her best to pull them back together. "Up! Get up now!" It was too late to flee, the bond had been made.

The Guardian hit the ground, thoughts muddled and mute, the cold air and hard concrete only becoming a real thing over a few seconds. The wall exploded next to them as the Dreg's tried to hit them again, two of the three rushing forward.

Startled, the Guardian scrambled to her feet and just happened to trip out of the way of clutching claws and knives and into the snow.

"Just pick a direction and run!"

Running. Yes. One foot in front of the other but in quick succession. Running she could do. A hot liquid was pooling in her ears but the Awoken ignored it. Her mind was still foggy so she had to make a conscious effort to focus on what the ghost was demanding she do.

The Guardian didn't know she knew it, but her armor was thin and more likely to fend off a scraped knee than a bullet. These Dregs were thirsty for her light, and where there were Dregs the rest of the pack would follow. Ghost melded with her Guardians' mind so she wouldn't be exposed.

"Just keep running!" Ghost said, realizing what a mess she'd made of her weave of the Guardian's mind, she wasn't physically inside of the Guardian's mind, more like apart of its circuitry.

The woman caught herself despite not seeing the steep slope and managed a somewhat graceful slide downhill. She hit the bottom right onto a frozen pond that cracked under her weight but didn't shatter.

Above the Dregs were waiting for something, perhaps their pack leader to arrive to bolster their ranks.

"Guardian, keep heading toward the moon, an outpost should be in that direction." The Ghost was starting to hear a ring, the crack on the side of her optic was beginning to burn. She'd never been hurt before. Dropped yes but never had she ever been ruptured.

Carefully, the Guardian pulled herself up, the ice moaning underneath her weight. Her helmet tilted up as she saw eyes at the top of the hill. The hunting party had gathered. She carefully shuffled backwards a step. Lady Luck smiled upon them, as the Vandels seemed confident and took their time getting to her. This bought her time to reach the other side and sprint off.

She wondered what her name was...

An odd thing to think about when your life was in danger. She just found it strange that... What was the term... Time, such a short time was all she could remember. There was a name...

Her other ear started pooling with hot liquid and the guardian staggered. The ground seemed to tilt this way and that. She fell to her knees.

"No no no no! Get up! Guardian!" Ghost worked furiously to weave together what she could in such a short time. Despite these efforts, the Guardian continued to sit in the soggy snow, staring at the whites and blues. She could hear the crunch of the Fallen's feet as they walked closer, the snapping of jaws and guttural words.

It was this casual pace that cost them their prize.

Shots rang out in the dark, causing two of the Dreg's heads to explode in succession. The Vandel snarled and leaped for the new Guardian but in the span of a few seconds she noticed. Noticed how close to snuffing out her light he was. The Ghost shared the thoughts, thoughts of a swelling power within.

The air around her shivered with a purple light. Just as the Vandel was about to bring down a nasty jagged dagger the Guardian rolled to one side and pushed the light in a raging wall. It knocked the Fallen back and into the pond, the ice finally giving up.

As the Vandel spluttered then exploded from another gunshot, the remaining Dregs tried to take off into the woods but were pursued by two shadows. She heard the crunch of snow as a pair of feet stopped next to her. She hadn't bothered to get up out of the snow.

She was busy staring up through her blood spattered helmet at the stars above. The other Guardian who's face was also covered, tilted to one side as he looked at her. He was covered in a heavy cloak to ward off the cold air.

"You alright?" He asked, kneeling next to her.

"No we're not! Please take us to the Tower!" Ghost appeared, causing the other to start. His own Ghost appearing and floating near her to inspect the deep gash.

The new Guardian didn't seem to hear much of what was going on as he called for an aerial pick up. Her glowing eyes went from one star to the other. She could see all the different colors. She remembered...

Did she?

Her head swam again and her Ghost was instantly by her side.

"I didn't raise you to just fade on me! Come on Guardian...!"

The rest of the ghosts' words were lost, or perhaps they just didn't matter anymore. The Guardian slipped back into the darkness of her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Ghost wrote and rewrote her work, the Guardian was now stable and stopped flitting between oblivion and the material world. It was only then did her own wounds seem important. While she was inside her Guardian's mind her physical shell didn't deteriorate further. Currently the new charge was sleeping. It was not a peaceful sleep. Ghost watched her neurons fire in quick succession indicating dreaming. That wasn't something she could stop, nor at this point was she willing to mess with anything else. Pain was starting to become very prominent amidst her moving panels.

The Guardian tried to grasp her dreams, but as she progressively woke up only to be put back under it became harder and harder to recall what the dreams were about. There were fleeting moments where the Awoken was aware of someone carrying her, the whine of an engine, the hard floor she lay on. The smell of blood.

Her Ghost told her stories during this moment, talking about someone else. She talked fondly of this person, but after a while it seemed less about keeping the Guardian awake and more to comfort herself.

Another period of darkness.

Someone had their hands on either side of her face, the fabric of their gloves smooth and cool against her skin. Words, touches, smells all melded into a whirlpool, swirling into a torrent of light that drained down into the darkness. The particles ripped themselves apart, burned and then reassembled themselves, up and down were a perspective that didn't exist. Only the hands on her face were the pillar keeping her from losing herself in this chaos.

"It's ok, Guardian... We're safe now."

The spiral of movement suddenly slowed, melded together and crystallized into polished stone. But it was not perfect. The surface was cracked in several places but melted over to bridge the gaps. Lines of light and data pulsed right underneath the glassy surface in an intricate pattern, all controlled chaos.

"What... Is this?" The Guardian glanced over when the Ghost appeared next to her.

"It's what you've created to comprehend the inner workings of your mind... And my own work." The ghost tilted her optic down in thought before looking back, "It's time to wake up, Guardian. Focus."

The Awoken looked away, suddenly realizing that despite standing upright, she felt gravity pulling her backward, her body heavy against a hard surface, yet she was still continued to focus on these sensations, the room growing thick and mute with fog. She remembered the hands holding her head.

With a deep gasp of air the new Guardian jerked awake, almost knocking over a couple of people that had been holding her down.

"Easy..." Said a very soft but tired voice.

The air snapped with energy as it dispersed into nothingness, she became extremely aware that she was sticky with blood soaking her face and hair. Other parts underneath her armor were wet as well, but there was no wounds.

"Guardian, look at me."

Her eyes settled on a white masked face, her vision stopped swimming and the world settled into its reality. He sighed in relief before releasing her head, as he turned he staggered a bit but one of his acolytes caught him.

Ghost popped up over her Guardian, "Well... That was exciting. Let's not do that again shall we?" She turned over, revealing a scar from the bullet that had almost killed them both.

"No... Let's not..." The words felt strange on the Guardian's tongue. She tried to push herself up, another acolyte came to her side to help her. The Awoken's eyes widened slightly when she realized how much she'd been bleeding on the table.

"I had to keep recreating what you kept losing while trying to fix your mind." Ghost flitted in front of her view, "Guardian's normally don't... Reflect how they died."

"Really?"

"Well... Most Ghosts don't get overexcited and... Neglect to check the area more thoroughly." Ghost narrowed her optic, if she'd been organic she might've even been blushing in embarrassment.

"The mistake is in the past, Ghost." The white robed man joined them again, this time under his own power. He reached over and tilted the Guardian's chin to him, "Welcome, Guardian. They call me the Speaker for the Traveler. You're entry was certainly unique, most Ghosts don't survive being shot."

"What can I say, I'm stubborn." Ghost spun around in a smug circle. She watched her guardian look down at her hand, glove stained in blood. She scratched the side of her face in an attempt to get some of it off but it only succeeded in smearing it further, "I think I can explain our situation later, right now I think you should clean up and rest."

It was dark in the Tower, so the halls and main areas were for the most part empty. Only a few Guardians coming in or leaving for patrol before the sun rose. The couple that the new Guardian saw gave her one glance, then a second to make sure they'd seen the new blood soaked comrade. She was starting to feel more uncomfortable and not just because she was sticky. The acolyte showed her to a room with a view to the wall, half of the picture was the City, and the other the dark out lands. The Ghost excused the young man, telling him she could handle the rest.

Ghost glided over next to her Guardian who was staring outside of the window. She looked from one to the other, "I've been told that the entire planet used to glow like the City." A moment of silence.

"Go clean up, Guardian. I will think of a name for you."

"A name?" The Awoken tilted her head, "I... I don't have one do I?"

"Nope, but we can't very well keep calling you 'guardian'. It would make things confusing."

It took a little bit more prompting from Ghost before she figured out exactly what to do in order to get clean. However once the prompts were made the body took over with habits she'd formed in a life she didn't remember.

The warm water covering her body was the first pleasant thing she'd felt since... Waking up. She hadn't realized how sore she was, and with the blood gone she could actually see that she had black tattoos that covered her face just on her nose and fluttering just underneath her eyes. The Awoken stared at herself in the mirror, wiping away the steam every time it fogged over. There she was, that person in the glass.

Ghost appeared over her shoulder while she was touching her face, "It's time to rest."

The Guardian glanced outside again and saw that the sun was rising, she didn't feel particularly tired. In fact she actually had more questions, she wanted to explore the Tower.

When the bed sagged underneath her weight so did her energy level. She lay down and curled up under the soft blankets. Currently she felt very hallow, like someone had taken sandpaper and scraped the inside of her skull. Ghost flitted above her to make sure she was comfortable.

"Will the darkness be as loud as the first one?"

"What?"

"When I... Passed out... It was loud and frightening... Will that always happen when I sleep?"

"I don't think so, but I can't promise that. Dreams are fickle things... Or so I'm told. I know that my previous Guardian..." She stopped when she realized that the young woman had already slipped into sleep. She took a moment to scan her to make sure of the Speaker's work. The stitching seemed solid... But the fact that the scars were there just made Ghost feel very nervous and fragile.

The little robot flew over to the windows and signaled some shades to be drawn down so that her Guardian could sleep.

For the next few days Ghost walked her charge through some of the basics until she was certain the woman could do them on her own. It was a strange mix of nostalgia and excitement for the ghost, she remembered fumbling herself on several things when she was with her first Guardian. They also spent time with the Speaker who would check on their health, he'd also started calling the Guardian, Ella.

"Ella..." She tried the name on her tongue, "Ella... I like it. What do you think?" She looked at her ghost.

"It's cute, like you. Or at least... I think you're cute. Humans would think she's cute... Right?" She looked at the Speaker who gracefully moved the subject forward.

"I'm now confident that you are well enough to see the Vanguard now and be put to training. You've been told about the Vanguard by your Ghost, correct?"

"Yes... They are our trainers... They will prepare us in the fight against the Darkness."

"In the most basic sense yes, but darkness comes in many forms. You will learn what shapes it takes as you're trained." He gestured for her to follow him.

Ella hadn't left her room for the most part during her first few days, she'd been wracked with headaches and night sweats. However a few more visits with the Speaker as he helped her Ghost repair what she'd messed up and the pain at least stopped. She'd had to ask Ghost what was happening when she slept and the little machine explained what dreams were, or at least what she'd been told they were. Ella certainly wished she could remember what happened in them.

The Tower was a massive structure that housed not just Guardian's but the humans who supported them. Although most went back to the City during the night. Ella couldn't help but stare at all of the intricate armors and robes that the Guardians wore, none without some sort of battle scar. She suddenly felt very exposed, she was only wearing a simple off white robe that had been provided for her. Then again it wasn't like she had any personal affects.

They took an elevator up to the very top of the Tower where the most activity was happening. People coming and going to their ships and meetings between venders happening. Ella paused at the top of the stairs just to drink in the sight.

Everyone was loud and frisky, exchanging excited stories or showing off an item they'd obtained outside of the City walls. Ella found the mass amounts of movement and noise a little intimidating. The Speaker paused when he realized that she wasn't with him.

"It's ok, Ella, you'll be joining them soon enough."

She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. Ella hadn't spoken to anyone but the Speaker and his acolytes, and Ghost, none of them were this exciting. What if she said something strange? The new Guardian wrong her fingers together before continuing down the stairs.

OOO

Cayde-6 was getting dizzy watching Zevala pace back and forth at the front of the room. Ikora was thumbing through some books off to the side but the Hunter knew she didn't read a page that fast. Skimming was something that caused holes in not just the words but your decisions afterwards.

Or some such nonsense like that.

He turned to look at his map so he didn't have to go cross eyed from Zevala's pacing. There wasn't anything to do today, the troop movements had been ordered the supplies had been moved and no one had called in to get advice on an extremely complex situation. He almost missed having Crota around it kept him busy at least. The Tower was dull enough as is.

At least today they had good news, a few days ago a new guardian had been rushed in with internal bleeding to put it in simplest terms. While it wasn't unheard of it was pretty rare for either the Ghost or the Guardian to survive being attacked during the first resurrection. Apparently it wasn't this Ghost's first rodeo. Cayde looked up at his own ghost that was resting on one of his paperweights. He couldn't imagine leaving his ghost by choice, then again he wasn't some people.

"Zevala, please sit. You're going to wear a hole in the floor." Ikora said, shattering the silence between them.

"Thank you!" Cayde said, ignoring the look of annoyance from the Titan. Zevala said nothing, but he planted himself in one spot this time.

"The last time the Speaker reported on this Guardian he said she was stabilized." Ikora finally snapped her book closed.

"I understand, it's just unusual circumstances."

"Who knew that any memories actually survived after death, one of the Traveler's wonders." Ikora said.

Cayde started twirling his knife between his fingers, "I'd call it less a wonder and more a question..." He tossed the object up in the air expertly, despite Ikora's objections of him playing with knives at the table he just got so bored a lot of the time.

"A question of what? We don't know if all of the memories of our past selves survive the process."

Cayde's ghost lifted off its perch, "I apologize for not knowing... Everything we've done to you. It's simply something the Traveler integrated into us upon creation."

The Exo waved the apology aside, "Can't deny the nature you were born with."

"No... I suppose not. I imagine any memories we seal away at the resurrection help shape you in some subtle way."

Ikora's ghost appeared now, "That theory makes sense, otherwise why would they remember how to even function when they woke back up."

"The body is memory." Said Zevala's Ghost from his perch on the table.

"You know for divine super computers you guys don't know that much." Cayde chuckled.

"The Traveler gave us a purpose, not wisdom unfortunately." One ghost shook their optic, the light dimming as if he were closing an eye.

The Vanguard's conversation was temporarily interrupted by some patrols returning from Venus, they'd been gone for a couple months now and were excited to rotate back in. As that crowd dispersed, a familiar white robed figure walked in, going neither left nor right but never being hindered on his way to the three.

"Good afternoon, Ikora, Zevala, Cayde." He nodded to each in turn, "I'm pleased to tell you that the treatments were a success, the new Guardian is stable now."

"That is splendid news!" Ikora allowed herself to crack a small smile.

"Up and running, that's what we like to hear." Cayde started tossing his blade back and forth, "So where is the kid, we'll have to establish who gets them under their wing."

The Speaker stepped to the side, "I've named her Ella."

A shadow that had been hanging back finally stepped forward. She was very plain, as all Guardians were when they first arrived, a nice blank slate for them to mold. After a time the new warriors would start sporting emblems, bright colors and fancy armor simply to strut like fancy birds.

Ella stepped forward at the Speaker's prompt and faced them, then looked at the floor and knelt to pick something up. She turned the blade over in her hand curiously before extended it toward him, hilt first.

"Cayde?" Ikora prompted.

The EXO suddenly realized that it was his blade that she'd picked up off the floor, he'd dropped it.

"Oh... Thank you." He stepped back while his comrades stepped forward.

"Welcome to the Tower, young Guardian." Zevala said.

Ella glanced over when she saw a wink of light in the corner of her eye, her ghost twirled in the air, "Looks like I still got it!" The other ghosts in the room flew over to examine the war scar she'd obtained in the resurrection. Ella was happy to be introduced to the Vanguard, they seemed very eager to make a place for her in the Tower. The past few days had been fraught with nothing but questions and periods of darkness when she was with the Speaker. Zavala and Ikora were friendly but with a serious undertone in the way they spoke. Cayde-6 on the other hand, hung back and just simply looked at her, only speaking when spoken to.

Ella noticed Zavala was saying something, "Huh?"

"I said you will be tested soon, to see where your aptitude lays." The large man repeated.

"Oh... What do these tests consist of?"

"Save yourself some time, start with Ikora's test." Cayde finally spoke, "Speaker, a word?" The white masked man nodded and followed the Hunter off to the side.

Ella watched them for a moment before looking to her ghost, "Did...did I do something wrong?"

"I'm... I'm actually not sure, Cayde has always been a jovial sort. That's the most serious face I've ever seen on him." The little ghost whispered. Ikora and Zavala exchanged a long glance.

Cayde walked to the furthest corner of the Vanguard hall that overlooked the valley beyond the wall. The Speaker stood next to him, hands folded loosely behind his back.

The EXO shifted from one foot to the other as he struggled to find the proper words.

"Is 'Ella' really an appropriate name for her?" He finally asked.

"I think it's a very appropriate name." The Speaker tilted his mask to the Hunter, "She's not the same face you knew all those years ago."

"A walking memorial is not any better!" Cayde snapped, but not too loudly as he didn't want his words to carry.

"You'll have to take that up with her Ghost, then. It's not as if the Ghosts care much about the past, only the future."

Cayde leaned heavily against the railing, huffing loudly in disagreement. He could feel heat rising through his bio mechanical systems, he couldn't decide what the emotions were but they made every inch of his being twitchy. He glanced over his shoulder at the new Guardian who was still engaged in conversation with his comrades.

"She's not a memorial to an old memory, Cayde-6, she is a Guardian of the Light. I hope you come to see that sooner than later." The Speaker left the EXO's side. Cayde straightened up and watched him go back to the table where he exchanged a few more words with the group, touching Ella's shoulder in finality before leaving.

Ella looked toward Cayde and tried to offer a smile, though she felt a bit awkward doing it. Ghost had told her a smile usually disengaged people, but it seemed only to encouraged Cayde to hustle out of the Vanguard hall.


	3. Chapter 3

It was just a day in the Tower.

Just another day humanity was huddling underneath it's broken god and behind its walls of Guardians. It was not the current turn on the sun though, no this was before Cayde-6 had taken on the Vanguard Dare.

The younger Guardian was just exiting his ship after a very long scouting mission on the Moon. There had been strange happenings with the Hive hunkering down in the crevices of its dust. However that was the least thing on Cayde's mind. First he wanted to shower all of the dust from between his joints and get into a new set of clothes. Moon dirt was a lot more course than Earth's so it really grinded in his exposed gears. He'd been hearing that crinkle in his ears for days now and just wanted to get rid of it.

"Heads up!"

Cayde turned and caught a package just in time.

Tevis hopped down from his ship as it was swarmed by maintenance drones. His clothes were pale with silvery dust and Hive blood as well, "Take that to the Cryptarchy for me?"

The Exo promptly threw the bag back, "Why, so you can get a shower first? No no my friend, not likely." He grunted when the bag was tossed back into his face, "No, because I know he's the first person you meet when you get back with a haul. The Vanguard needs those Hive runes decrypted."

"Fine, but you get to do the report."

Tevis did a little salute on his way down the hall out of the ship yard. This particular tower was still partly under construction so several floors were still empty of tenants. A lot of the Guardians were housed amidst the people themselves but Cayde wasn't very good with sharing, so he'd quickly taken up residence at the base of the Tower like some. At least the elevator worked.

Engrams and runes dropped off, refreshed and cleansed of celestial dust, the sun was just beginning to dip low on the horizon. Cayde wasn't going to sleep for a while yet since the days were not standard on the Moon. He sat in the main courtyard with a cup of his favorite drink and simply watched the activity in the tower wind down, the night shift workers were starting to file in and exchange details for the work to be done.

He saw out of the corner of his eye a familiar cloak wisp its way across the concrete floor toward him.

"Boy you don't waste any time." Cayde muttered as he took another sip of his drink, "Can't even be here a day without you giving me something to do."

Andal Brask, the current Hunter Vanguard chuckled, "It's because I know you would get bored sitting too long between missions."

The Exo rolled his eyes but didn't disagree, "So what muddy hole are you gonna send me into time? Can it not be the Hive this time? They're the hardest to get out of your armor when they explode. Plus they smell fishy."

Andal cocked a smile, "I think you'll appreciate the fact that you don't even have to leave Earth for this one... At least not yet." He motioned for Cayde to follow before gliding back toward the hall that would eventually be the Vanguard's main meeting place. Cayde gulped down the last of his drink before tossing it over the railing.

Upon entering the makeshift meeting room he was greeted with a peculiar sight. They did not glow like a Guardian even though their eyes smoldered in the dim light. With a human shape, but the heaviness of the shadows on their shoulders. It was a small group of Awoken that stood before them, all dressed in scholarly attire. One stood apart from them, talking quietly with the Speaker. He could tell from years of being around his fully organic friends that she was easy on the eyes, soft features against Raven black hair. Green eyes, not a color that was very common anymore, and a small tattoo around her eyes just dark enough to see, if she did wear make-up he couldn't tell, not that it mattered to him. Her gray skin shimmered like the silver beneath ocean waves.

This assumed leader was looking down at the Speaker's ghost who seemed happy to hover just above her palm while they talked. It's light refracted in her glimmering eyes as she saw only what Awoken could see. Whatever that was.

"Ah, Cayde-6 welcome. Apologies for reassigning you so quickly." The Speaker said when he approached. He gestured to the female beside him, "This is Ellana, an Awoken scientist from the Reef."

"Pleasure to meet you." She smiled more with her eyes than her mouth.

Cayde raised an eye ridge, "Pleasure's all yours... What does the Queen want?"

Now she smirked with her lips, "This is not at her Majesty's bidding I'm afraid"

The Exo looked at Andal who continued with, "Ellana and her group have offered their knowledge and services in helping us to wake up the Traveler." He looked at his charge, "You and Tevis will escort them as they go about their business in the Cosmodrome."

"I didn't know Awoken needed baby sitting."

Ellana pushed off the Speaker's ghost who returned to the high priests' shoulder, "It's less that we need baby sitting and more... We are not familiar with the area. Some Awoken are old enough to remember being on Earth. We are not some of those people." She clasped her hands gently in front of her.

"So you're young punks." Cayde folded his arms.

"Not as... Full of life as you it seems." She winked at him. Cayde felt a twinge of annoyance.

The meeting went on long enough for Tevis to show up and get introduced. Ellana and her team seemed eager to get to work so they would leave at the end of the week once supplies and equipment were sorted out. It seemed despite Ellana's soft demeanor, her compatriots followed her word like she was a captain of a military squad. Cayde would've wondered why a good ol human mercenary guard wouldn't do but it seemed the group of Awoken wanted or perhaps needed, to go to certain areas that were just thick with either Fallen or Hive.

"What are they going after again?" Cayde asked as he walked to the ship yard to do final check ups.

"I got lost around when they started talking about different waves and such... I just understood that they can't be directly under the Traveler because despite its inert state... It's still pumping out too much power for some of the instruments to read accurately."

"Ah." The EXO grunted, baby sitting was not his idea of an exciting time, but this meant he could have the time to do other things... Like actually take time to practice sniping, it was difficult to just practice on a casual level when you were crawling through Luna's dust trying to find Hive.

Cayde's interactions with the Awoken had been limited to their planning sessions and they'd kept to themselves the rest of the time. Any questions directed at them were carefully pushed aside with well practiced words. The Awoken who decided to leave the Reef behind usually never went back, and they all seemed to have an unspoken agreement to never discuss their history with anyone.

The day arrived when they finally were ready to launch the expedition. It was early, the sun was barely starting to light the horizon. In the cool hours of pre-dawn it was the best time to launch the majority of ships, the air easier to climb until the ships could break orbit.

As they were doing final checks with the Shipwright, Cayde couldn't help but notice that Ellana was the only one of her group to not have some sort of weapon, not even a side arm.

"Ellana... What are you doing?"

"What?"

"Tell me you've got a gun somewhere on you."

The Awoken parted her coat to reveal none, "I'm confident you and Tevis will be enough for protection."

"Well sure but... We're not always going to be chasing your tail around every single moment of this mission."

"I will be fine without a fire arm." Ellana paused when he continued to just look at her like she was an inside out Vex, "Not all of us Awoken are 'space Pirates'... As you seem to like to call us." She quoted with her fingers. Cayde felt a twinge of embarrassment, the term had been in a conversation after one of their briefings, he hadn't realized she'd still been within ear shot.

"Who isn't armed to the teeth in this soar system... Why haven't you been killed already?"

"Yes, Cayde, why haven't I been killed already." she smiled pleasantly before entering her ship without another comment on the subject.

OOO

The bullet flew wide causing the side of the target to explode. Ella released the scout rifle ungracefully, sweat rolling down her forehead and her heart beating in her throat.

"You're predicting the sound of the shot, you need to breath before you put your finger on the trigger." The instructor said.

"I know!" Ella rubbed her face for a moment before staring helplessly down at the tool. Things had not stopped since she'd met the Vanguard. A series of tests had started and as the Hunter, Cayde had said, she'd revealed the most aptitude with the Warlocks. A majority of them were mostly researchers and scholars of information, but that information came at at the cost of going beyond the walls where the Hunters and Titans were the strongest. Yet Ella had seen Warlocks come back from the outside world and even in the Crucible arenas that simply dominated both mind and body.

"Take a break, Ella, nobody masters anything overnight."

Ella followed their instructions and put away the gun as she'd been shown. Outside of the shooting range she found a bench off in a quiet corner. The young Guardian observed the activity happening in the courtyard, several cliques laughing and swapping war stories or arena matches. She felt tears start to sting her eyes and quickly turned away from everyone, instead looking out over the City.

A flit of light appeared in the corner of her vision, "What's wrong, Ella?"

"Everyone seems to be better at this fighting thing than me..."

"That's not a terrible thing, knowledge is just as important as muscle." The Ghost watched as her new charge turned a shade darker and looked down at her hands, they seemed to be still shaking from trying to use the guns. Ghost didn't mention that she'd never seen a Guardian so nervous and worried before. The instincts the Traveler had them weave were to ensure confidence in any and everything.

Ella took a deep shaky breath, "Ok."

"Ok what?" The ghost floated after Ella as she got back up.

"I'm going to practice more before I go to Ikora's lesson."

The results after weren't much better, however the Guardian took her frustration out on her lessons as to try and control the Void. She'd learned a lot about the different elements they could potentially control. Yet the more time Ella spent in the libraries the more frustrated she became with the fact that she simply was just afraid of using guns. Anger started to flower in her mind as she struggled to figure out why she was afraid of something she knew wasn't going to get up and bite her... Short of the Crucible. Her performance there wasn't great and she had to put up with the disappointment of the Crucible Handler, while he was never rude he certainly didn't hide how he felt, especially when it came to Warlocks. Her ghost never said it, but Ella could tell the mechanical ball was at a slight loss at her ineptitude to fight.

Her bullet swung wide of the target again.

Ella took another shaky breath and aimed down the scope again, right when she squeezed the trigger her shoulders bunched up and her arm muscle twitched, causing her to jerk when the explosion of the bullet finally came. In a fit she slammed the gun down on the table in front of her and hid her face in her hands.

"It's not a shame to be bad at something."

Ella jumped at the new voice and turned to see a large black and white Exo with a star on one side of his cranium. She wondered how long he'd been standing there watching.

"I know it's not, that's not what's bugging me." She turned away from the Exo. Ella busied herself with reloading the clip. Her fingers slipped and she cut her hand.

She noticed the Exo was still standing there, a slightly amused look on his face, "Can I help you? Or are you going to just stand there and mock me." She could tell by the flag on his hip that he was a Titan.

"Sorry, I don't mean to imply that I'm mocking... Laughing at you yes... But not mocking."

"Then go away... Please." Ella held her ghost as she healed her cut.

"This is Aco-9, Ella." The ghost turned to the male, "He was apart of the fire team that killed Crota."

The Awoken glanced back at the Exo, now she looked at his armor, encrusted with course glittering minerals, made of the moon itself. She suddenly felt tiny with all of her dull training equipment.

"Do you want help?"

Ella looked at him, trying to see if he was just toying with her, "I have the instructors."

"But you're fighting an uphill battle, that's the problems with you Warlocks you always overthink the simplest things." He leaned around her and picked up the rifle, "You have to master yourself before you can master anything else." He loaded the clip with well practiced instinct and fired down range, hitting almost every single bullseye before handing the gun back to her, "A gun is only as deadly as its master. You are not deadly, you're just scared." He walked away.

Ella stared down at the piece of metal, "Why would a Guardian be afraid of... Anything?

"You tell me... What are you afraid of, chickling. You've hardly been outside of the City."

From one of the balconies above, Cayde watched the scenario play out. He'd been slipping away from his duties to watch her a little more often than he cared to admit. Ikora had been expressing concern about the Guardian. The human seemed concerned that the damage done during the resurrection process might be a permanent problem. She'd never seen a Guardian so timid before.

The expression recalled the first time he'd seen it, one of well controlled agony. It had been shortly after they'd set up in an area to do the first scan. A stray pack of Fallen with no banner had tried to strip them of their equipment and lives but Tevis and Cayde, true to their function, massacred the entire clan as the wave came rolling at them.

When the dust settled and everyone was accounted for, Cayde noticed Ellana standing over one of the Dregs, chest exploded from a high caliber round, fresh scars on its side from having its limbs constantly pulled off of them. Her eyes had been as empty as the other animal's chest cavity. She looked up and caught him watching her, him still covered in the Fallen's blood. Sadness welled up within her eyes. The Guardian didn't understand, was she sad that he'd killed them? They'd just tried to murder them first, why was she sad? Cayde grinded his his jaw in annoyance and wiped off some of the blood from his face. He had some scouting to do to keep the Fallen from sneaking up on them again.

Presently, Cayde watched Ella put the guns away and just stand there for a moment. She rubbed the tears her eyes before walking briskly out of the firing range.


	4. Chapter 4

Cayde and Tevis took turns staying with the Awoken research team while the other kept danger away or kept them from getting into it. The patrols of the Fallen hadn't increased so Cayde assumed it was a splinter group that had had a disagreement with their alpha. The work was tedious though not difficult looking, it reminded Cayde of the Cryptarchs except instead of engrams and history they were crunching numbers and turning them into words.

Ellana led them with hardly a harsh tone, yet there was a heaviness in the way she moved and reacted. Especially when it came to the Guardians, Cayde found it rather annoying that she treated them delicately.

Guardians didn't always need sleep, they could go for longer periods of time without it compared to the non-Risen. However Cayde found time to nap now and again, the break from reality was a nice one on occasion. Tevis went off to scout the next area they were going to traverse next, leaving Cayde alone with the Awoken.

He didn't like being alone with these Awoken, they would occasionally whisper... And not quietly but a sort of echoey chatter that he heard but couldn't understand. This unnerved him to the point that he would make excuses to be somewhere else. In this case he was sitting on top of a boulder with his back to the side of a cliff face. The Exo had a nice view of the small valley they were currently calling home. Occasionally he'd spy movement and use the scope of his sniper rifle to see that it usually was something boring.

"You have an awfully itchy finger, don't you?"

Cayde jumped and glanced to his side at Ellana who'd managed to walk up to the bottom of his perch, a soft smile on her face and a cup in her hand.

"Sorry... Didn't mean to startle you."

"I wasn't startled." Cayde took a moment to discretely cycle some air through his lunges, "What do you want?"

"You've been up there all day... I figured you could at least use something to drink." She held up the ration.

"Oh..." He was about to say no but then his stomach growled, "Uh... Thanks." He slid down to the ground and took the offering. She didn't leave however.

"Did... Did you want to watch me eat? I have to say right off the bat that that's a little creepy."

She chuckled, "No I was hoping to ask you something."

"Oh... Ok." He set down his load and looked back out over the Cosmodrome, "Shoot."

"What do you see, when you look out there?"

"What?"

"What do you see, as a Guardian." She chuckled when he continued to stare at her, "If you would so humor me."

"Ok... As a Guardian..." He looked again, "I see a valley... Too steep on either side to really climb. We could be trapped very easy if an enemy were to drop in at either end... Maybe not right away but it would only be a matter of time... Also bugs... Lots of bog areas that make fighting a pain... If it didn't suck you under first." He glanced at her, looking for a sign he'd hit the answer she was looking for, "... Want me to keep observing?"

"Is that all you see? A battlefield?"

His eye ridges knitted together, "Of course!" He looked there and back again, "What else would it be?"

"It's never occurred to you that it could be a place to live?"

"No... Why would it?"

"I see." Ellana gave a small bow, "I'm sorry for disturbing you so much."

"Wait wait wait!" Cayde reached out instinctively but quickly retracted his hand, "What's with the weird questions? I mean you ask weird questions anyway... All that spooky Awoken voodoo you and your friends are doing... What's with the questions for me suddenly?"

Her eyes flickered a bit to the rhythm of her thoughts, glimmering between bright and emerald green, like she was looking at something on him that even he couldn't see. He hoped she didn't notice his slight shiver.

"I've only ever heard or seen Guardians from afar... I've been told many things, I just wanted to see if some of those things were true."

"And... Are they...?"

"That remains to be seen."

"Great... Just keep watching me... Like a lab rat... Except three hundred times better looking."

Ellana chuckled, "Yes, you are much better looking than any rat."

"Thank you! I think..."

Cayde watched her leave, in a wink of light his ghost appeared next to him. He didn't say a thing, just looked after the Awoken long after she'd gone.

"Don't you start acting weird too." Cayde poked the little machine.

A day or so past before Tevis returned with less than ideal reports. A rogue clan of Fallen had their skiff parked at the end of the valley. Ellana expressed her dislike for engaging in any combat, they could live without completing their scans at this angle.

"It's not like there's gonna be no Fallen elsewhere... Or worse... Hive." Cayde said, "You think we haven't taken out entire skiffs before?"

"I have no doubt in your abilities, but I see no reason to call anymore attention to ourselves than necessary. They're probably looking for that scout party that tried to ambush us. We're leaving."

Cayde huffed, he hated retreating. However when he glanced over at Tevis the other Hunter merely shrugged, "Way to have my back."

"I'm not the one with a problem with our guest."

"I don't have a problem with her."

"You grind your jaw when you're annoyed. It's always around her."

Cayde unclenched his jaw, it was a habit he could never catch himself doing, "She's always asking questions, don't you find that annoying?"

Tevis shrugged, "Why would that be annoying?"

"It's annoying when you don't answer... Awoken are very good at not answering." Cayde kicked an empty crate over that he was leaving behind.

"Or you're just not good at reading between the lines... I thought only fully organic men were not good at that, you Exo's are supposed to be superior." Tevis snorted in amusement.

"We are, especially when it comes to good looks. Least we don't eventually sag into dust."

"No you just crumble into rust." Tevis dodged an elbow to the rib. Granted guardians didn't really age, the Ghosts saw to that.

The research team was speedy in packing up, but not speedy enough. A skiff had dropped off a squad of the rouge house. Cayde was the first to spot them and the first to brandish his weapon, they were still quite a ways off but they'd already spotted their ships. The Exo was intent on first blood but just as he was squeezing the trigger someone grabbed his shoulder causing the bullet to fly and his temper to flare. He whirled around and nearly took out Ellana, she responded with a counter of her own and they both locked eyes, the Guardian's glowing with rage and hers with frustration...

OOO

Frustration was certainly something Ella was feeling as she went through her training. She kept being told that being a scholar was not something bad, a lot of them helped the Speaker in studying the Traveler along with the Cryptarchs. The more she was told this, the more angry she became. She was supposed to meet with Master Rahool but she stopped in the hallway when a group of mostly senior Titans stampede through the crossway. One of them was Aco-9.

Ella looked from where she was supposed to be going, to where the group went. Then she started to follow them.

"Ella?" Her ghost's voice sounded between her ears.

"What?"

"That's my question, what are you doing?"

"I'll figure it out." Ella picked up her pace to catch up with the group who were headed to one of the training areas. When she showed up she was, as usual, overlooked. Always the new little Warlock that couldn't shoot straight. There were at least six of them, two were Hunters. Ella felt her mouth dry up a bit and for a moment she really couldn't think. She had a hard time talking to people one on one.

"Well well, " the voice caused her to jump involuntarily, one of the Hunters had noticed her, "If it isn't... Ella is it? Remember me?"

"Umm..." Ella looked at his face closely but before she could connect the dots he flicked her on the nose.

"Just as slow as she was when she woke up."

"Easy, Lynn, she's just a little Warlock." Another piped up.

Lynn tussled her hair as he laughed, "Little Warlock indeed."

Ella smoothed her hair back down, she remembered Lynn now, he was the Hunter who'd been patrolling out where she'd been Risen. Her eyes met Aco's who was leaning casually against the far wall.

"Aren't you supposed to be in training, little Warlock?" Aco chuckled.

"They've stopped trying to teach me guns." Ella could feel her face warm as the other Titans busted out laughing, she kept her eyes on Aco though, even though he was smirking he seemed to be the only one with restraint.

"It's not a bad thing to be good at other things." The Exo's more tame demeanor for some reason made Ella feel even more agitated. In the past months she'd run into Aco several times if he wasn't out on patrol, he always had something to say to her. Yet with his friends he seemed to be the... More quiet of them.

"I want to be good at both." Ella breathed in deep, "Can you teach me?" She really wished his entourage wasn't there, they kept looking back and forth and exchanging comments like it was some sort of show. Aco just looked at her, the white lights just underneath his armored plating winking with whatever he was thinking. Ella hated when people looked the way he did, everyone in her small generation of Guardians knew she was not good at fighting.

The interaction proceeded with Aco's friends starting to get Ella to leave, Cayde watched this from afar, sitting astride a nearby roof. He had a few minutes between meeting some faction representatives and happened upon Ella's side quest. It was actually abnormal for her to break her routine, she usually clung to it like it would kill her if she didn't do as the seniors said.

Lynn stepped forward, "Go on, Ella, you don't belong even in the arenas." He reached up and pushed her back a step. Aco straightened up like he was going to speak, he wasn't fast enough though.

Ella felt heat rise up in her blood and she reached up and grabbed his wrist, except a flare of light seared across her skin and the smell of burning cloth and flesh filled the air, "Stop touching me!" She yelled. Smoke curled up along with a string of colorful curses and shouts, Lynn snarled and went to back slap Ella but she dodged and he tripped down the stairs. The Awoken Guardian watched Lynn yell in pain, his Ghost appearing to heal the damage she'd done.

She could hear the scolding now, young Warlocks were not encouraged to use their powers in any place other than training and she'd just attacked one of her seniors. Ella glanced around for an excuse to run but a very loud laugh caused a hesitant retreat. Aco was laughing so hard he had to sit down.

"Well! Looks like she's got some fire in her after all! Just takes Lynn to bring it out." A few of his comrades were starting to laugh with him and mock Lynn for actually missing Ella.

Ella wrung her hands together, she could still feel a flicker of heat along her skin, prickly like a hot day about to get hotter, "I'm... I'm sorry I didn't mean..."

"He'll live, his ego won't but he will." Aco finally found the stability to get back on his feet. He walked up to Ella, "Look, you don't like guns, that's fine... Funny... But fine." He pointed at her hands for permission before taking them and holding them with her palms up. There were still lines of orange flame just underneath her glimmering skin. Ella realized she was shaking, the Warlock tried to pull away but he held on to her and leaned a little closer, "First lesson, is that you need to stop being afraid of yourself. Easier said than done... But it is an important thing everyone... Especially Warlocks need to learn." Ella looked up into his white optics, his smile was not amused but... Comforting.

Cayde was already running late but that was nothing new, he watched for a few minutes more as Aco showed the little trainee around, eventually getting to a few Warlocks that actually did go beyond the walls. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness when Ella's face lit up at meeting them. This was the longest she'd been in the training arenas for hand to hand combat since her first few tests. Aco eventually started her with some simple movements, he easily bested her in strength but he had amazing control. Ella focused, and picked up the movements pretty fast.

The body sometimes remembered things better than the conscious mind, Cayde could see Ellana stepping and evading. Rough and inexperienced, but quick to adapt.

He recalled that day that he and Ellana first got into a rumble with each other.

It didn't last very long, she moved swiftly and softly, a way of fighting he wasn't used to. It caught him off guard and she knocked him down, rifle in her hand. The Fallen swooped in upon them, a female Captain leading the way.

In those few seconds Cayde went for his hand canon and Tevis went for his rifle, the Dregs and Vandals screamed as bullets started flying. Abruptly the chaos dropped into silence, Cayde saw Tevis go down to his knees first then he felt a heavy weight start suppressing his light. It wasn't painful, but he certainly found it difficult to move, like trying to move through mud. He felt a twinge of panic as the Fallen squad started to pour into the area... Then they dropped to their knees. The only one that didn't was the Captain. She snarled and barked in her language, twisting and turning, trying to rid herself of the invisible bonds.

Ellana walked calmly up to the Captain who stood easily three feet taller, a strange pale aura coursing around her own body, eyes glittering with quiet power. Cayde's audio receptors picked up whispering, it was like words he should know very well but they just couldn't reach the tip of his memories no matter how hard he tried to listen. He figured that Ellana was some how communicating with the Fallen trash, holding them all hostage.

The Captain growled and screamed, lashing out, claws grazing just short of Ellana's face. The Awoken spoke again, the rage blossomed furthered in the Fallen's eyes and she lunged at Ellana again but was struck down by a force, her gun clattered to the dirt, the Captain turned and yelled something, it was at Cayde this time. Froth was dripping from a shattered piece in her mask.

Cayde felt the weight start to lift off of his frame, he was free. Ellana turned and walked up to the Guardians. She handed the sniper rifle back to Cayde, "She has no forgiveness for you killing her youngest... And we don't have time for her to find it." A wave of her hand and several bone breaking snaps filled the air as the squad as each of the squad's neck was snapped, the Captain screamed one last time before her head jerked at an unnatural angle.

The Guardian stared at the Fallen, the air crackled and snapped as Ellana's energy dispersed. He looked up at Ellana who was standing next to him with her hands wrung together, clasped around the amulet that hung from her neck. The Fallen looked more at peace than she did.


End file.
